Some early looks from Saints camp

Saturday

Aug 3, 2013 at 6:37 PM

Training camp is a little over a week old for the New Orleans Saints, and we are starting to get some good looks at some of the key players who will contribute greatly for the Black and Gold this season. It’s just practice, but here is my take.

Mike DetillierSports Correspondent

Training camp is a little over a week old for the New Orleans Saints, and we are starting to get some good looks at some of the key players who will contribute greatly for the Black and Gold this season. It’s just practice, but here is my take.

Drew Brees — No one benefits from the return of coach Sean Payton more than the best player to ever put on a Saints uniform. He has been crisp in practice, but it is in his demeanor and his reunited confidence, almost a swagger, that convinces me he will lead the Saints to the 2013 NFC South title if he can stay healthy. (Knock on wood).

Cameron Jordan — Other than Brees and tight end Jimmy Graham, Jordan has looked like the third best player on the team. He is in great shape. He is more focused, and it is his ability to use his hands better to come off of a block quicker that really has impressed me. He is playing inside this season, heads up against the left guard, and I think he will make a major impact coming off the blind side and going most of the time against guards that won’t be able to match up against his athleticism and upgraded technical skills. I always thought he was a sort of a slightly less talented version of New York Giants all-pro defensive end/tackle Justin Tuck. This season he looks an awful lot like Tuck coming from the inside.His former defensive coordinator in college, Clancy Pendergast, told me that he had never coached anyone with Jordan’s talents in college or in pro football, and that if Jordan plays in a defense that will play him inside in a 3-4 alignment, that he could register 12-13 quarterback sacks a season. Let’s see what happens now.

Jimmy Graham — Graham has recovered from his hand and wrist injuries of a year ago and it just doesn’t even look fair for defenders to go one-on-one with him down the field. If he can stay healthy, he is going to be the best tight end in the NFL. Few can match his size, eye-hand coordination, his skills to run with the ball after the catch, and he is a nightmare to cover in the red zone.

Keenan Lewis — Lewis was the Saints prize free agent acquisition from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the crafty cornerback really looks the part. He is making a ton of plays due to his quick feet, excellent size match-up skills, his ball-reaction ability and his great length to knock down throws. Lewis will never lead the league in interceptions, but his break skills to the football and his ability to get his hands on footballs make him a unique cover-man for the Saints.

Jahri Evans — Evans is one of the most underrated players on the team. Evans is one of the Top 3 guards in the business and his ability to protect Brees from inside blitzes on his side of the field and his road-grading skills as a run blocker make him one of the five most valuable players on the Saints. Evans still has some time to play in this league, but I think he is the second best offensive lineman to ever play for the Saints behind Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Roaf.

Joe Morgan — The speedy wide receiver suffered an injury early in Saturday’s Black and Gold scrimmage, but he is playing like someone on a mission. What impresses me is his confidence on the field in knowing what to do on each play, and he has improved his route running skills. He is the Saints version of the “nuclear threat.” At least twice a game the Saints have to stretch the field and let Morgan’s speed open the deep areas of the field. Sometimes it is not just hitting on those long passes, but getting defenses to react to him threatening the deep part of the field. His continual progress this season is a key for this offense.

Jabari Greer — Simply said, he is the Saints best one-on-one cover cornerback.

Junior Galette — I have written this all offseason, but no one benefits more from the change defensively than Galette. He is the Saints most gifted edge pass rusher at outside linebacker, and he has very good football instincts in getting after the quarterback. I really feel he is a better NFL prospect than Victor Butler was before he got hurt. Galette has flashed some impressive edge pass rush skills in the practice sessions.

Akiem Hicks — The second year defensive lineman has worked at both noseguard and left defensive end. He always has been a very strong “power” player, but now he has pieced together a good array of moves and countermoves to get off of offensive linemen a bit quicker. He is still a little rough around the edges, but his potential is off the charts. If you play him over the center at times to get a pass rush, he is going to win a vast majority of those battles. Hicks is playing with confidence and his technique is much better than a year ago.

Eric Martin — I wrote this last week too. Eric Martin has a chance to be a very good player in the NFL. He has excellent foot speed and is a natural pass rusher playing the outside linebacker slot in a 3-4 alignment. He is still a work in progress as a technician, but the football light seems to have come on for him, and he could really be a top special teams player for the Saints, like he was at Nebraska.

Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas — Ingram and Thomas are an outstanding one-two punch at running back for the Saints. Ingram will get his chance to be the “bell-cow” runner this season, and he is finally healthy. He has a low center of gravity is hard to knock off his feet, runs with a good combination of power and quickness and has good field vision. The more he gets the “rock” the more effective he is. Ingram is also a good receiver coming out of the backfield. Thomas is one of the best screen-pass receivers in the game. No one has ever run the screen as effectively as Thomas has in a Saints uniform.He is not the biggest, fastest or strongest runner in the league, but he does everything very well (runs inside or on the edge, pass protects, catches the ball and finishes off runs). Thomas is a complete back.

Kenny Vaccaro — The first time I saw him at Texas he reminded me so much of LaRon Landry at LSU. Vaccaro is aggressive, runs the alley to make a tackle with great abandon, is a “blow-up” down-field tackler, is very physical and most importantly, he matches up well down the field one-on-one with tight ends.The 2013 first-round pick of the Saints has his PHD in football. He’s a quick-study performer and is a difference-maker on defense. Like Landry, he must control his aggressiveness better at times because the real sharp tight ends will bait him into getting out of position to make a play on the ball.

Ben Watson — Some observers are surprised just how well the athletic tight end catches the ball. How could you be surprised?The last three seasons for a bad Cleveland Browns offense, he caught 154 passes.The former Georgia star is a good blocker, but Watson is also a sure-handed target and very underrated as a down-field receiver. You will see a ton of two-tight end sets for the Saints, and this will cause a lot of problems for opposing defenses.

Nick Toon — The Saints 2012 fourth-round pick looks like a totally different football player from a year ago.Last year in training camp Toon looked tentative catching the ball and just didn’t seem comfortable running routes. That changed a bit later in the preseason, before an injury put him on the football shelf in 2012.Now the former Wisconsin standout looks smooth running routes. He is catching the ball with great confidence and has a good burst after the catch. He really looks like the heir apparent to Marques Colston as the Saints next big-target receiver down field due to his size and sure hands. He is also sneaky fast after the catch.

Curtis Lofton — Lofton, along with, Jordan, Lewis and Greer are the four guys defensively that won’t leave the field in any down or distance situation.Lofton looks like he is in the best shape of his career, and while he was always a noted run stuffer, it is his upgrade in pass-coverage situations that has stuck out early on.Lofton is clearly one of the leaders in Rob Ryan’s new defensive format and the 3-4 is tailor-made for him.